


Into the Fray/To the Stars

by spacemonkey



Category: U2
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 16:05:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12302706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacemonkey/pseuds/spacemonkey
Summary: Bono and Edge look to the stars to remember.No real set year, but I imagined the summer of 94/95.





	Into the Fray/To the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all, I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack (for a little while, anyway). This is just a little fluff piece designed to get me back into the swing of writing these two so I can tackle some...other stuff ;) Really, I sat down tonight with only the title and the final line in my head, and had no idea where I was going with this, but just started writing. I'm not entirely sure what happened, or how it happened, or what's going on, but anyway, have some Bedge! I hope you all enjoy xxx

It was the sort of summery day that they’d lived through many times before, where the sun rose hours before they did and set while they were all eager for their lives to begin—again and again, night after night, they found themselves reborn when the stars emerged. At least, that was how Bono often viewed it all. Edge, he occasionally found himself buying into everything that Bono was selling. But on other days, still after missing the sunrise well and truly, there came a point where the sky was past streaking orange and purple and the stars were making their long-awaited appearance, and Edge would take it all in and appreciate just how consistently alive such a view could make him feel. Not reborn, no. On some days, it seemed like such a shame to start all over again.

The world was still theirs—it had been for a while, and hopefully could continue that way for just a little longer, until they had their fill and then some—but their reach could only go so far. Alone on the balcony with a glass of wine in his hand, Edge could only watch the inky black water roll, the movement on the beach for so long before his attention turned back towards the stars. Half-hidden by clouds that looked as though they might have some bite in them later, they still shone brightly where they could, some brighter than others. And down on the beach, shouting and laughing with that look on his face, the one that Edge didn’t even need to see to just _know_ was there, shone the brightest star that Edge knew.

Sometimes, the stars left him feeling very small in comparison. Mostly, though, he was simply filled with a sense of awe so overwhelming that, even after all these years, was near-impossible to process.

Later, company found him, and their night finally began, in idle chatter at first, then comfortable stretches of silence that meant more to Edge than he cared to admit. Eventually, Bono turned from watching the sky to ask, “Edge, what happens to stars when they burn out?”

“Well, it depends on the star, really. But generally, there’s mass mourning, you know, people talking about how they regretted never seeing them in concert that one time when they could have, but figured they would have another chance. Sometimes a benefit concert is organized in their honour. Normal stuff really, I’m shocked you’ve not encountered this in your travels.”

“You’re fucking hilarious, you know that right?”

“Can you repeat that so I can record it?”

“Why, so next time someone tells you you’re not funny—”

“Precisely. A contradiction, straight from the horse’s mouth.”

“Hey now, actual horses could potentially get offended by that comparison.”

It was a night for laughter. A night for _one more glass_ and _well, we can’t_ not _finish this opened bottle_ and Edge breathing in the ocean breeze, knowing Bono was watching him. Knowing why. And then guessing. Completely sure of himself, of Bono as well, until doubt slowly started creeping on in.

“The biggest stars—the brightest ones—explode into a supernova. Much like how the lives of many real-life stars end.”

“Dramatic, even in death.”

“Well, sometimes you’ve just gotta go out with a bang.”

Bono fell silent, swirling the wine in his glass slowly as he looked up at the stars. And sitting there at his side, Edge knew—just _knew_ —that there were two possible thoughts that Bono could be pondering. Only two, at such a time on such a day with such a person at his side.

It was strange, how Edge himself hadn’t thought about that night for what felt like an eternity, lost in a vast sea of memories relating to Bono, yet there he was, looking at the stars and having it all come flooding back. And it was strange how Bono probably hadn’t recently considered that night either, yet there was no doubt in Edge’s mind that he was remembering. That, or he was contemplating his mortality, how his life was fated to end. Would he explode into a supernova? Or just quietly fade away, forgotten amid a sea of stars?

“Do you remember that night, Edge? When we—Jesus, we must have still been in school—”

“I remember.”

“We’d nicked that bottle of whiskey from your dad and snuck out late on a school night, remember?”

“I do. You’d had some bright solution to how we would explain the missing drink—”

“No, that was you! Always you with the genius solutions. What had it been that time?”

“I honestly don’t remember. How do you even begin to explain missing whiskey?”

“These days? I’m forever trying to explain missing whiskey to Ali, yet she always comes to the most obvious conclusion of its current whereabouts.”

“Maybe you should stop drinking it all then?”

“Don’t be fanciful, the Edge.”

 Bono’s smile turned faint, but Edge, as always, knew exactly when to look for it. And as always, it left him close to feeling overwhelmed.

“How come we always find ourselves here?” Bono murmured, with that look in his eye. “On our backs looking toward the heavens?”

“I don’t know.”

“What did I say to you that night? Do you remember? It was something. . . something about looking at the stars.”

Edge remembered. How could he have ever forgotten? Yes, there were still parts of that night that remained forever lost to him, no matter how much he strained to recall. They were simply gone, taken over by the memory of the damp grass seeping into his back, the thrill of escaping and potentially being caught, the sound of Bono’s laughter, and then that certain stillness that came at night only when two people were alone together. The surrounding world had simply become background noise, leaving him with the sound of Bono’s breathing, the rustling of clothes, and the whisper that followed: _It’s alright, I’ve got you. I’ve got you._

Afterward, Bono had turned to him with that look in his eye, knowing things that Edge couldn’t possibly begin to comprehend, things that hadn’t yet eventuated. Certain about so many things in life, bar himself. “I think we can make it big one day,” he’d said quietly. “I really do. We just need to fight for it, and know what we’re fighting for, you know? It’s no small thing, jumping into the fray, but I think we can handle it, Edge. No, I know we can.”

At the time, Edge hadn’t been nearly as certain. But it was hard not to get caught up in it all, when Bono looked at him in such a way. They could make it. And why shouldn’t they? What did they have to lose by trying?

“I think we can too.”

Bono’s smile had been slow to appear, and impossible to lose sight of once fully formed. He’d turned onto his back, eyes cast towards the heavens, and Edge had watched him until Bono said, “Look at the stars, aren’t they incredible?”

“Yes, they are.”

“You’re not looking, you idiot.”

Edge had slowly rolled onto his back then, taking in the view and following Bono’s finger when he pointed to different sections of the sky. “Do you know any constellations?”

“A few.”

“What’s that one called? That odd little arrangement right there?”

“I don’t know. Honestly, I just know a few of the well-known ones, and nothing rings a bell right now. They’re pretty though.”

“Can you imagine what people must have thought while looking at the sky in historical times? Before astronomy was a thing?”

“It must have been a simpler time, not knowing how small we truly are in comparison.”

“We’re only as small as we feel. You never know, one day the world might just be ours.” Rolling onto his side to face Edge, Bono had reached out a hand and smiled. “Keep looking to the stars, Edge. One day soon you might look up and see us up there among them.”

 


End file.
